In the production of hollow, pulp-molded articles, a molded article prepared by papermaking is dried by placing the molded article in a drying mold, inserting a baglike expandable and contractible elastic pressing member inside the molded article, and feeding a fluid in the elastic pressing member to expand the pressing member within the molded article thereby pressing the molded article toward the inner surface of the drying mold.
According to this method of producing molded articles, because the elastic pressing member expands and contracts repeatedly in a drying mold of high temperature, it deteriorates significantly and needs to be replaced frequently. It has therefore been demanded to develop a method and an apparatus of producing a molded article with which molded articles can be produced in a stable manner over an extended period of time without involving frequent replacement of the pressing member.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for producing a molded article which enable stable production of a molded article over a long period of time.